A/HRC/18/54
system of receiving countries by enabling officials to channel migrants towards
protection systems that are appropriate to their situation.
64.
While the immediate humanitarian and human rights challenges relating to
migrants and asylum-seekers fleeing recent events in North Africa continue to
preoccupy the international community, it is important to bear in mind some potential
longer-term consequences of the larger movement of migrants. A significant number
of migrant workers are no longer able to send remittances to their families and
communities, and a considerable number have been compelled to return to countries
with high unemployment rates and fragile or inadequate social support
infrastructure. Countries with newly established or transitional Governments, such as
Egypt and Tunisia, have been faced with the need to reintegrate large numbers of
returning migrants without adequate time to prepare, and are already seeing a drop
in remittance flows. Effective international cooperation will need to be ensured so that
neighbouring countries are able to shoulder adequately the burden of hosting large
populations of migrants and asylum-seekers. In the context of the legislative and
institutional reform process currently under way in these countries, it would be
important to ensure the inclusion of human rights protections for all migrants in
relevant laws and regulations.
65.
A major concern for repatriated migrant workers is the financial impact of
contracts that have been terminated on short notice, sometimes without the payment
of due salaries, and the rescue of data on social security contributions made in
countries of employment, which are no longer accessible.48 It is important therefore
that responses to the current migration crisis take into effective account the longer
term need to ensure that any return of migrants to their countries of origin is
sustainable and that the human rights of all returnees, including their fundamental
economic, social and cultural rights, are respected, protected and fulfilled.
V.
Recommendations
66.
The High Commissioner recommends that States:
(a)
Increase efforts to prevent deaths at sea through prompt and
coordinated action; all States, commercial shipping companies and others present in
the Mediterranean should consider that all boats leaving the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
are likely to require assistance and act accordingly;
(b)
Make efforts to ensure that adequate procedures are put in place at
borders in order to clarify individual protection needs under international refugee law
and human rights law prior to any lawful expulsion or removal;
(c)
Consider granting temporary permits on humanitarian grounds to
migrants fleeing recent events in North Africa;
(d)
Ensure that all migrants and asylum-seekers are protected from
arbitrary detention, and explore the use of alternative and non-custodial measures
prior to placing migrants in administrative detention;
(e)
Avoid detaining migrant and asylum-seeking children, regardless of
their status;
48
16
A/HRC/17/44, p. 68. See also P. Taran, R. Cholewinski, Z. Osorova, Information Note: Displacement
of Workers/Migrant Workers from Arab States in Turmoil - Imperatives for Action on a Globalized
Migrant Worker Crisis (ILO, Geneva), March 2011 (unpublished).
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